Screw You Guys - I'm Goin' Home!

In honor of one of the best TV characters of all time, we dressed Reed as Eric T. Cartman for his first Halloween.  With a red sweatshirt, brown pants, black socks, and cap and mittens custom made by Gram, we think Reed was the perfect Cartman.  And no fat suit or prosthetic makeup necessary for our little guy - those cheeks are all his!  As he told us himself, he's not fat - he's festively plump!

Reed is Six Months Old!

How has it already been six months?  There are days when it seems like yesterday that we were headed to the hospital, ready to bring Reed into the world.  Of course, there are also days when it feels like we've always had this third little person in our family.  But Reed is now half a year old and he's so much fun.  Friends have told us that this is a great age, and they're right!  Here are all of the things we want to remember about Reed at six months:

• He's starting to level out a bit, in terms of growth.  At 18 pounds, 12 ounces, and 27 1/2 inches long, he's in the 75th percentile for both height and weight.  
• He's wearing mostly 6-9 and 9-month clothes, with a few 12 month sizes thrown in, particularly in jeans.  We can't squeeze his chubby little thighs into slimmer cut jeans!
• Reed still takes five liquid feedings a day, just breastmilk, with two nursing sessions (one in the morning and one at night) and three 7-oz. bottles at daycare.
• This month we introduced Reed to solid foods!  It's been a bit of a mixed bag.  He liked the rice cereal at first, and loved sweet potatoes and carrots, but hated peas and bananas, and was lukewarm on peaches.
• Of course, he wants whatever Jeff and I have, both food-wise and everything else!  He's constantly reaching for everything - and anything he actually grabs hold of goes in his mouth!
• Reed is still a really good sleeper, and his nighttime sleep patterns haven't changed much.  He goes down for bed around 7 p.m. and sleeps until 6:30.  There's usually one 4 a.m. wake-up for the pacifier, and another one between 5:30 and 6:30, but we don't feel we have much room to complain.  Plus, he's getting closer and closer to being able to find that paci himself during the night.  We can't wait!
• He usually takes 2-3 naps a day, but we think the third nap might peter out soon.  His naps range from 1 1/2 to 2 hours, to 45 minutes.  
• Since he started rolling over last month, Reed nearly always sleeps on his tummy now.  
• Speaking of rolling, he can go both back to tummy AND tummy to back, and can roll in both the the right and left directions.
• He's doing a TON of talking!  Reed has definitely discovered his voice.  There's plenty of squealing and screeching (we try to discourage the screeching), and lots of babbling.  We heard "ba ba ba" for the first time this month, and there's a lot of "la" and "ra" in there too.  We think we heard a "da da" once, but not consistently yet.
• Reed is still a champ at daycare.  His providers, Sayeeda and Miss Indu, love him and are always telling me what a great baby he is.
• His favorite toys at home are his Sophie giraffe, the musical monkey from Great Aunt Karen, his blue musical octopus, and his Exersaucer.  
• Speaking of music, Reed loves it!  He's mesmerized by toys that play music, Daddy's whistling, and his Classical Baby DVDs (not as much for the images as for the sound).
• While he still needs to be watched closely, Reed can now sit on his own!  Most of the time he does the tri-pod sit, but he can sit unassisted as well, for several minutes at at time.  He can't yet get into the position on his own, but he's getting there!
• He still LOVES to stand up and often wants to be pulled to a standing position, as opposed to seated.
• Reed loves Trivasol - the vitamins we give him at bedtime.  He starts grinning the minute he sees the bottle and sucks on the dropper to get all the liquid out.  It's adorable.
• He'll turn to the sound of our voices nearly all the time, and often when we call his name.
• Reed is still a bit solemn with strangers and in new situations.  We think this thoughtfulness and need to take things in before reacting might just be part of his sweet emerging personality.
• My favorite part of this month - Reed now loves giving "kisses"!  He leans in toward us with his mouth open.  Best part of my day!

And here are a few pics of our amazing 6-month old.  Happy half-birthday, Reed!

Such a good sitter!

He loves Daddy's lap

Playtime with Grammy

Nap time with Grammy

Story time!

Tuckered Reed

Reed is Five Months Old!

September 11, 2011 - Of course, today is a day of sadness and remembrance for our entire nation, and our family is no exception.  As we ate dinner tonight, we watched one of the many television specials about 9/11 and we speculated about what would be the life-changing national and/or international events to affect Reed and his generation.  But for us, today was also a day for celebrating the continued growth and new milestones of our sweet Reed Alexander, who is now five months old!  It's been a HUGE month for our boy.  Here are the things we want to remember about Reed at five months:

•  He's still a big boy, but maybe not as big as previous months.  At nearly 18 pounds and 26 1/2 inches long, he is in the 72th percentile for weight and 67th percentile for height (according to an online children's growth percentile calculator).
• I'm slightly questioning the accuracy of said calculator, as he wears mostly 9 month clothes, with a few six month and 12 month sizes thrown in for good measure.  Plus, everyone who sees him comments on what a big boy he is!
• It took a couple of weeks, but we finally weaned Reed completely from the swaddle blanket this month.  We started with one arm out, then both arms, then his legs (with just his middle wrapped), and now he sleeps in a sleep sack at night, just for the extra warmth.  
• Reed started daycare this month and has transitioned beautifully!  His daycare providers love him, as do the other kids (especially a 4-year-old named Nate who always greets me with "Hi Reed's Mom!").  He's always in a good mood when I pick him up and it's clear that he's getting great stimulation during the day, as he's exhausted by the time we put him down at night.
• Speaking of sleep, Reed goes down around 7:30/7:45 p.m. and usually wakes up around 6:30 a.m.  He'll often wake up around 5 or 5:30 a.m. wanting his pacifier, but will usually go back down for another hour or hour and a half.  We've also had a few nights when he's woken up around 3 or 4 wanting the paci, but he usually either puts himself back to sleep, or falls back asleep once we give him the pacifier.
• His naps have definitely gotten a lot shorter.  He still naps three times a day, but they are usually shorter, ranging from 45 minutes to an hour and a half.  Sometimes daycare will get him to sleep for 2 hours at a stretch, but that's not the norm.  While we love hanging out with our fella, Jeff and I kind of miss the long naps he used to take!  It was time we could count on to get things done around the house or just take a breather.
• Once I started back at work, we changed Reed's feeding routine a little bit so that I could nurse Reed twice a day.  Jeff still gives Reed the morning bottle on weekends, but on weekdays I nurse him in the morning before he goes to daycare.  He then takes three 6 1/2 - 6 3/4 oz. bottles at daycare, and then nurses again before bedtime.
• While he's often more pensive and solemn among strangers, Reed loves to smile and laugh with Jeff and me.  He particularly loves it when Jeff tickes him, when I "eat" his hands and feet, and when Jeff and I dance for him.  
• He now loves touching our faces and also likes it when we bring our faces in close to his.  I often get the big open-mouth kisses, even though I don't think they're intentional on his end!
• While we can't feel any teeth yet, Reed's drooling has intensified, so we think that teething could be starting soon.
• After two weeks at daycare, Reed caught his first cold.  No fever or cough, or even fussiness, just a stuffy nose for about a week and a half.  We did take him to the doctor because of this weird wheezing sound he was making, but the doctor said his lungs checked out perfectly.  She said he probably started making the sound due to congestion, but then continued because it felt funny.  Isn't that lovely?   Five months old and he's already trying to fake his mother out!
• August 19 was a big day.  He found his feet AND started blowing raspberries!
• He loves putting anything and everything into his mouth.
• Last week Reed showed the first signs of being interested in solid food.  The day before Labor Day, he reached for my glass and wanted to put his mouth on it, and two days later he tried to eat my english muffin.
• He has now outgrown his infant carseat and this weekend we installed the convertible one.  Two days in and we're mourning the loss of being able to let him sleep in the carseat while we carried it around, but he just got too heavy for me to carry, plus his shoulders didn't fit in the straps anymore.
• Reed LOVES to stand up and is great at putting his full weight down.  
• He can sit unsupported for short periods of time.
• The big one, of course, is that he can now roll over!  On September 7, he rolled once, back to tummy, and the next day he did it again and again.  Now we just need him to master rolling tummy to back so that he doesn't continue to freak himself out when he winds up on his tummy in his crib at night.  

We feel so lucky - Reed is happy, healthy, and an incredibly good-natured little boy.  Happy five-month birthday, Reed!

Post-roll

Hangin' with Daddy

He's got the pout down!

Birthday!

BEST.  BIRTHDAY.  PRESENT.  EVER.

Yep, our boy can now roll over!  He rolled for the first time the night before my birthday, but when we got him home from daycare yesterday, he was a rolling machine.  Well, back to tummy, at least!  He hasn't figured out yet how to get from tummy to back, but hopefully that will come soon.  We're so proud of him!

Reed's latest milestone was, of course, the highlight, but my 31st birthday was fantastic for lots of other reasons too.  I received flowers at work from my wonderful in-laws, countless emails, phone calls, and Facebook messages from friends and family, and a wonderful steak dinner, cooked by my wonderful husband and shared with Maureen and Justin Turner.  Another special treat: Jeff snuck by daycare early and changed Reed into a onesie that read, "Happy Birthday Mommy".  Too cute!

My sweet boy in his "Happy Birthday" onesie, hand-crafted by Jeff!

Labor-Free Labor Day Weekend

The last weekend of summer was spent just as it should be - with friends!  We were a busy family this Labor Day.  On Saturday we headed out to the Simons' house in Tysons Corner for a BBQ to inaugurate their new deck.  Reed got lots of cuddles from Maureen Turner and Erin Willcher, as well as playtime with Eli Steiner.  But the highlight was watching Beth Steiner "swaddle" Ben Willcher, in answer to his question, "How do you swaddle a baby?  Could you swaddle me?"  Why, yes, Ben.  Yes, she can (see picture below!).

Reed has always loved snuggles with Maureen!

Erin holds Eli as he flaps

Yes, they're besties already.

And it all started in HESA . . .

Beth is a swaddling machine!

On Sunday we visited the Gorfinkels for brunch and Reed got some fun playtime with 1 1/2 year-old Nora Gorfinkel.

Nora REALLY wanted to give Reed his pacifier!

That evening we attended another BBQ at the home of Wendy and Noam Fischman, friends from Shaare Torah (but unfortunately, no pictures from that party).  Monday was rainy and icky out, but we headed over to Anne and Doug Mandeville's house for a playdate with their son, Zachary, who was born just five days before Reed.  It was a big day for Reed.  He sat on his own for the first time and grabbed for our drinking glass.  Looks like we'll have a solids-eating sitter before long!

With all our fun time with friends, we still managed to get in some downtime.  Reed enjoyed a couple of couch naps with Daddy and Mommy, and also worked it out in his new exersaucer.  He loves standing up!

Reed in the Sunshine State

It's a month overdue, but I wanted to share some pics of Reed's first trip to Florida.  On August 5, we headed down south to see Grandpa Eli and Aunt Helaine.  Bubbe, Zayde, and Rachael joined us for a fun Lang/Weisberg weekend.  It was a quick trip and VERY humid, but we managed to squeeze in some pool time, plenty of naps, and dinner at Eli's favorite Chinese restaurant, ABC. 

Reed and his great-Grandpa Eli

Good standing with Aunt Rachael

Sacked out with Zayde

Water baby!

Post-swim haze with Bubbe

Dinner at ABC

Reed is Four Months Old!

Yesterday, August 11, marked Reed's 4-month birthday!  This last month has been a lot of fun.  We've traveled to California and Florida to spend time with both the Sherwin/Richardson and Lang/Weisberg families, and we've watched Reed learn all sorts of new tricks.  Propping, grabbing, reaching, holding, laughing . . . he's such a different little boy than he was just four months ago!

On another note, this week has been a little bittersweet for me, as it was my last week of maternity leave.  I head back to work at American University on Monday and my heart breaks every time I think about leaving sweet Reed.  The last four months with him have been a precious gift, and I'm so grateful that my wonderful husband supported my taking as much time as I did.  While I wish the stay-at-home mom thing could be a full-time gig, I'm glad that Reed will soon have more interaction with other children and will learn to trust and love other adults besides Jeff and me.  Even so, Monday is going to be rough!  I'm not sure how much I'm going to accomplish at work, as I know my heart will be with Reed over at Ivy League Daycare. 

But I digress . . . Below are all of the things we want to remember about Reed at four months, as well as a few pictures of our fella.

• He's still a big boy!  At his four-month appointment, he weighed in at 17.3 pounds (88th percentile) and measured 26 inches (85th percentile).  He's wearing mostly 6- and 6-9 month clothes, with a few 3-month size pants thrown in the mix.
• He takes around a 7 ounce bottle of milk each morning from Daddy.  No solids yet, just breastmilk.
• At the beginning of this month, Reed began sleeping for 10 hours a night, from around 8:00 p.m. to 6:30 a.m.  Needless to say, Jeff and I are in heaven!  
• While his naps have been spotty this past week, his usual pattern is a long nap (2+ hours) in the morning, followed by two shorter naps (45 minutes to an hour) in the late morning and late afternoon.  Depending on how  much he has slept during the day, sometimes he'll take a little catnap in his swing in the early evening.
• Reed is already racking up the frequent flyer miles!  He's flown to California and Florida and was an angel baby on all four flights.
• He got to meet his Nana and Papa Richardson, the Sherwin aunts, uncles, and cousins, and Great-Grandpa Eli and Aunt Helaine.  
• Reed is already showing promising signs of being a water baby like his mommy and daddy.  He enjoyed the pool in both CA and FL, kicking his legs behind him when on his tummy.
• He is slowly but surely getting weaned from the swaddle blanket.  Last week he got used to one arm out and last night he had both arms out.  So far, so good!
• Reed's eyes are currently dark blue on the outside and hazel on the inside.  I'm betting on hazel eyes in the end, but brown is a possibility too!
• He likes to bring both hands out in front of himself to grasp objects.
• When we carry him, Reed now often holds onto us.
• When I hold Reed in front of a mirror, he is delighted and grins and laughs at that handsome little guy in the mirror, but then gets shy and buries his head in my neck.
• His new favorite song is the Hokey Pokey, but only when we move his body parts along with the lyrics!
• During tummy time, Reed now likes to prop himself up on his elbows.
• He likes to hold toys (current favorites are Sophie and his bumble bee) and his pacifier.  He's great at taking the paci out of his mouth, but currently only so-so at putting it back in.
• Reed figured out how to pull at the toys hanging from his activity mat and likes to pull at them over and over again.
• He is starting to turn toward the sound of our voices.
• Reed is a little more distractable during nursing these days.  He'll often pull off to babble and/or suck on his hands.  Sometimes he likes to flirt with Mommy too.
• He often giggles when we take his onesies off.  

Handsome little devil

He's a miserable baby, can't you tell?

Propped on his elbows

Almost getting too big for his infant car seat!

Playing with the toys on his activity mat